Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Standing hardwood timber is a niche market, with traditional up and down cycles, and no one knows that market better than timber buyers, loggers and professional foresters.

There really is a right way and a wrong way to market your timber. Astute forest landowners will treat their standing timber just like their 401K or their IRA. It's simply another long-term investment tool that can be a vital part of their financial portfolio. Therefore, manage it wisely.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Taking care of your potted perennial plants over the winter will ensure they are around next season to provide another year of enjoyment.

Container gardening is a form of gardening everyone can enjoy no matter how large or small their garden may be. Those with only a balcony or patio can enjoy the pleasures of gardening just as those with areas of space. Containers can be quite elaborate, and the types of plant material can be quite varied. When it comes to what gardeners are putting into containers, the trend is leaning toward just about anything.

At one time annuals were the majority, if not the only type, of plant material being used in containers. Now everything from perennials to small trees and shrubs are being grown.

Monday, November 7, 2016

Inspect your plants for winter damage. Snow can cause
excessive bending down of evergreen branches to the point of breaking. These broken branches will always be weak if you try to bend them back up or tie them back up.

Consider cutting them off and, if possible, train neighboring branches to grow and fill in the gaps.

To avoid breakage or other injury, brush the heavy, wet snow off of the plants as soon as it stops snowing or even while it is snowing. Do not beat on the branches to remove the snow. Use a broom to lightly push or brush the snow off the branches.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Urban trees tend to have shortened lives, some living no more than 50 to 80 years. Urban forests in many metro areas have started to mature and decline, and are very susceptible to trunk-rotting and buttress root-rotting organisms.

Wood-rotting organisms can slowly nibble away at trunks and buttress roots. Trees often regenerate new, non-structurally supportive feeder roots that mask the signs of structural root loss. Many trees that topple look perfectly healthy before they fall. Afterward, it becomes clear that there were absolutely no structural roots remaining for support.

The best time to scout for symptoms of a fungal infection is just after a long period of cool, wet weather.

Friday, October 21, 2016

If you are going to treat fire ants only once a year, do it in the fall. Fire ants are easier to kill in the fall.

The one thing that makes fall the single best time to treat fire ants is that it's followed by winter. Extreme cold is tough on fire ants. That makes baits even more effective in the fall.

Baits take a long time to work. They weaken colonies and make them less able to respond to the challenges of winter weather. The young colonies are especially vulnerable because they don't have many workers. So they can't respond very quickly to the need to escape freezing temperatures.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Since 1976, the forest fresh wreaths of this vendor have decorated thousands of homes around the world. Handcrafted in the foothills of the majestic Cascade Mountains, their exquisite wreaths and swags are unequaled in excellence. They gather the finest aromatic greens and berries from the forests of the Pacific Northwest to create classic adornments, and lovely red velvet bows add the holiday spirit to nature.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

As fall's colors emerge, it's hard to miss the striking gold and purple leaves of ash trees lining streets and roads in many Midwestern U.S. states. However, when emerald ash borer arrives, many ash trees planted in towns, cities and conservation plantings could be lost.

First detected in southeast Michigan in 2002, emerald ash borer, or EAB, is an exotic beetle that attacks and kills all native ash species, including white, green, black and autumn purple ash. To date, the beetle is present in 23 U.S. states as well as two Canadian provinces and has killed about 200 million ash trees.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

This soapmaker has been raising goats for over 25 years and making soap since 1997.

The sweet creamy goat milk produced by the goats is the main ingredient in the soaps that are available in 35 scents. The most popular are Lavender, Peppermint, Red Clover Tea, Love Spell, Lime Sugar and Unscented soaps.

These infused oils are crafted in a small commercial kitchen in small quanities to afford maximum shelf life. Starting with 100% extra virgin olive oil as a base, the oil is infused with California grown garlic and select dried herbs and spices for a short period of time before being strained through cheese cloth and poured into 5 and 8.5 ounce bottles.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

While it may seem easy to put those raked leaves and other yard waste in plastic bags and toss them out as garbage, composting can be just as easy and much better for the environment.

"Many landfills no longer even accept leaves or garden wastes," notes Bill Lamont, professor of vegetable crops at Penn State. "Composting may be the easiest way for homeowners to dispose of them."

Composting decomposes organic matter into a dark, crumbly material similar to humus. Finished compost provides nutrients and helps soil retain water by increasing the valuable organic matter in the lawn and garden. Compost is a valuable soil conditioner that can be used in gardens, around trees and on lawns.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

When it's time for the last cutting of your lawn, how low should you cut? Your area's winter snowcover should help you decide whether to cut it short or leave it long.

If you live in a heavy snow area, cut the grass to about 1.5 inches in fall to prevent it from matting down beneath the snow and forming a haven for the snow mold fungus.

In areas with little snowcover, grass dries out and the crowns may be injured from a lack of insulation. In those areas, leave the grass long over the winter to help protect the crowns from drying out.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Some flowers are easy to preserve: baby's breath, celosia, yarrow, statice, globe amaranth, strawflower and artemesia. But every flower responds differently to drying and preserving. Experiment to get the results you want with the flowers you have.

Start with the best quality blooms. Make sure the blooms chosen for preserving are at the beginning or the peak of their bloom and have not started to age or decline.

Choose fresh, unwilted flowers and foliage. These can come from your garden or even the florist or local farmers market.

Monday, July 25, 2016

As summer begins to wane, it is time to decide which spring flowering bulbs you want to add to your landscape.

"You need to select good quality bulbs for planting, paying attention to size and firmness. Choose bulbs that are firm and free from soft or rotting spots, and signs of disease," says Patrick Byers, horticulture specialist with University of Missouri Extension.

There are three sources for bulbs: mail order catalog, local nurseries, and discount business.

Friday, July 1, 2016

The sun's rays are tough on our faces and arms, but we can wear sunscreen to reduce the damage to our skin. Tomatoes don't have that option. Exposed to bright sun, the fruit can heat up dramatically, reaching temperatures as much as 18 degrees warmer than the surrounding air.

Sunscald damage to your tomatoes depends on their stage of maturity, and the intensity and duration of the heat. The fruit is most susceptible when it is green or when the first pink color begins to show (called the breaker state).

Sunday, May 8, 2016

The lawn mower was supposed to circle the newly planted sapling, but instead it struck the base. Oops! Is that a problem?

Yes, it is.

Unlike skin, wounds that reach below the bark don't heal. At best, the trunk seals off the injury, but there is no repair in the sense that our skin repairs itself. Bark will form a callus along the edge of the wound, but it rarely can bridge the break. The trunk typically loses the bark in the injured area, and the wound remains decades later.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Cutting gardens, which were a normal part of Victorian gardens, are made up of a variety of annuals and perennials, both flowering and foliage, that can be used in flower arrangements. Today, they can fill the need for fresh-cut flowers, either for the home or to offer as a gift.

Most cutting flowers grow best in a full-sun location. Some gardeners prefer a less conspicuous spot because it may not look its best all season, while others make it a part of the overall garden design.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Growing plants from seed can save gardeners money and vastly increase the varieties that can be grown in a backyard garden. Gardeners can grow several transplants for the price of a few, store-bought plants, and the selection of varieties for sale is often limited.

Seed should be started six to eight weeks prior to transplant time. For example, if the average last frost date in your area is April 15, sow tomato seed inside in late February or early March.

To grow transplants, start with good quality seed from a reliable source. Quality seed is true to a cultivar or variety name and does not contain weed seed, insect casings, soil particles or plant pulp.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

In airtight winter homes, they also can be champions at filtering the air. Of 86 plants tested by researchers, ferns topped the list at formaldehyde removal. In fact, seven of the top nine performers were ferns.

The other great filterers of formaldehyde were (#7) lavender and (#9) geraniums (Pelargonium sp.) These findings were reported by Kwang Jin Kim and associates in an article published in the October 2010 issue of HortScience.

Other researchers have ranked ferns in the top 15 percent of plants in air purification.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Ornamental plants like poinsettias, Christmas cacti, Christmas Kalanchoe, amaryllis bulbs and miniature Christmas trees are often given as gifts during the holiday season. Unfortunately, these plants usually don't come with plant care information. And the gift getter may not have a green thumb.

Many people mistakenly leave these plants outside without realizing they aren't very cold hardy. Freezing winter temperatures can quickly turn your new plants to mush. Then your plant-gifts are only suited for the compost bin.